Cooling packaged materials



Sept. 3, 1935- c. G. BUDER 2,013,264

COOLING PACKAGED MATERIALS Filed April 8, 1955 1 1 4 W 2 7% P 1a [A INVE NTOR. (kw/P155 Q5095)? Patented Se t. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 2,013,264 COOLING PACKAGED MA ERIALS Charles G. Buder, Webster Groves, Mo.

Application April 8, 1933, Serial No. 665,073 Claims. (01.62-102) This invention relates to improvements in cooling packaged materials, and more particularly to improved apparatus for, and method of the cooling of packaged materials, such as liquids in bottles.

The cooling of bottled beverages at a rate to meet the peak requirements of retail sales, has

gree by the present invention. Various attempts have been made to accelerate the cooling of bottled goods by immersion thereof in a brine or sweetof adhesively-secured' bottle labels, and the necessity for the attendant manually to remove the cooled bottles from within a very cold liquid, have, among other difiiculties, seriously detracted from the desirability of the immersion method of often a difference, in summer months, of 50 F. The present invention has as its general object, the elimination of all of the difliculties of the immersion method of cooling, and a material reduction in the time required for cooling by dry refrigeration.

Yet another object of the invention is attained in an improved cooling cabinet and appurtenances for the refrigeration of bottled goods, embodying a forced circulation of a cooling fluid, such as refrigerated air.

A further important object of the invention is attained in a bottle-supporting arrangement such that the bottles themselves coact with other airradiation from the bottles and contents.

. The foregoing and still further objects will ap- .3 are plan views,

pear from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional elevation through 5 a cooling cabinet constructed and equipped according to the present invention, and Figs. 2 and on a somewhat reduced scale, of ad acent shelf nection with the cabinet of Fig. 1, for supporting packaged or bottled goods.

The structure of Fig. 1 includes a cabinet which is conveniently of rectangular section, the outer cabinet walls being indicated at 4, and an inner wall or shelf structure shown at 5. The walls 4 tition l serving'to define, with the adiacent wall fluid or air displacement device. As illustrated, the fan is of peripheral-blade type, the rotor or displacement element of which is indicated at Ill, carried by a shaft l I, and conveniently driven by an electric motor I2. Access to the motor is provided through a removable cover portion l3.

The upper or discharge end-of the vertical air 39 passage 8, is directed into a horizontally disposed chamber l4 located, in the present example, just below the top or upper wall of the cabinet. The chamber I4 is defined in part bythe walls 5, and a bottom wall l5 characterized by a series of evenly spaced nozzle or throat portions I6, each terminating in a restricted outlet port II, it being understood that while only a single row of the nozzles and ports |6 l1 appear in Fig. 1, several parallel rows thereof are provided, the 40 plurality of bottle seats such as l8 (Fig. 2). The tray or shelf structures embodying the seats I8 are hereinafter described in. more detail. Disposed by preference immediately below the ports I1, is a cooling agency generally indicated at #9, and exemplified as an expansion coil including a plurality of parallel, spaced, vertically disposed fins 20 carried by the tubular elements of thecoil, the inlet and outlet limbs of which are indicated at 2| and 22. Since the expansion unit l9 may consist of any suitable or conventional structure of this kind, and be utilized with standard types of commercial refrigerating apparatus, detailed descriptions of the compressor, receiver, condenser and other items of refrigerating equipment need not be here included. It is to be understood, however, that the cooling agency shown by way of example as consisting of the coil 19, may consist of an ice tray, or a suitable support for other refrigerating materials and/or agencies, such as dry ice, etc.,- or may consist of a brine coil; it being further noted that the successful operation of the arrangement does not necessarily require the unit l9 to be located as shown.

The bottles of liquid, orother packages of material to be cooled, are supported on superposed shelves, one or the uppermost of which is indicated at 23, by location, and represented in plan, by Fig. 2. My preference is to construct the shelves or trays such as 23, of stamped or pressed sheet metal, so that at the time of formation, there may be die formed in the shelf, the plurality of sockets or recesses serving as bottle seats, as indicated at l8 and hereinbefore referred to. Intervening, and arranged in staggered relation to the seats l8, are a plurality of apertures 24, the arrangement of the openings 24 and the distance between centers thereof being proportioned and conformable to those of the seats I8. While I have described the trays or bottle holders 23 as being formed of sheet metal, it will be understood that a woven wire construction (not shown), or other perforate or foraminous support may be employed, in the ing formed either by the arrangement of wires or for example, by separate cup-shaped elements (not shown) secured, as by welding, to a wire base.

Disposed below the shelf 23, is a shelf 25, which may be of similar bottle-supporting capacity :and of the same general structure as shelf 23, with the important exception that shelf 25, as shown by Fig. 3, is provided with bottle seats 26 spaced like the seats l8 of the shelf 23-butlaterally olfset'or staggered with respect to the seats IS. The relative position of the bottle seats l8 and 26 best appears from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3. Interveningthe bottle seats of tray 25, area plurality of air apertures or passages 21 preferably of a. size and generallocation corresponding to the openings 24 in the tray 23. j

Irrespective of the number of shelves employed, three being shown, only two types thereof need be employed, the shelves such as 23 and 25 being alternated, vertically, within the cabinet.

In order that the initial and intended arrangement of the two types of shelves be retained in use and service, it is my preference to provide shelf supports such as 30, for the upper shelf 23 and guides or slides of a different type as shown at 3| for the alternate type of shelf. Both types of supports may be formed conveniently of pressed metal. It will appear that the rim or lateral margins of shelf-23, is upturned as indicated at 32, while the correspo ding margin 33 of shelf 25 is turned downwardly. The guides and 3| are arranged, respectively, so as to receive only the shelf appropriate for the particular position and thus it is im ble to introduce shelf 23,

in the guides or supports 3|, and vice versa. The:

same arrangement of guides, supports, etc., may be employed for the bottom shelf of a three shelf cabinet, as is employed in the top. In theexample end-for-end reversal of the shelves is prevented by an upturned or downturned forward edge (not shown) so that the proper relation of bottle seats on the different shelves canlatter case the bottle seats bethe other, of the cabinet,

not be destroyed by endwise shifting of a given shelf.

As will appear from the air currents defined bythe arrows of Fig. 1, the cooling streams after passing the bottles on the several shelves, emerge into a lower compartment ill whence thejair is drawn'in'to the intake opening of the fan.

housing, and recirculated or ,rec ycledgas above described, upon being discharged by the fan into the passage 8 and chamber 14.

Many details of the proposed exemplary arrangement have not been exhaustively described as not being material to the present invention; for example, the materials constituting the parts of the cabinet, the details of mounting of the fan and fan housing, and other items being intenbeing within the realm of choice. It is my preference, however, that the cabinet he of portable or semi-portable nature,"-

and to this end, and for the sake of cleanliness, it is preferred to support the structure on leg elements such as 36.

The course of the indiv'dual, defined air streams, and the action thereof with respect to the bottles such as 31, supported by the shelves, is thought to be evident from the foregoing descrip tion of structure, but may be reviewed for sake of completeness, as follows: The stream of air discharged from the housing about the fan "I, is impelled upwardly through the vertical passage 8, thence into the chamber 14, and discharged, at a substantially augmented velocity, through the nozzles l6 and portsl1, preferably between the fins 20 of the expansion unit [9. The'fins do not, however, serve materially either to alter or to shape the course of the air streams emanating from the nozzle ports l1. It will have been observed that the ports i1 are verticalfly aligned with the tops of those bottles 31 occupy the first or uppermost shelf 23. These streams are, by preference, the same in number as the bottle seats of each shelf. There is thus directed a defined stream, downwardly along each individual bottle, this stream proceeding in close adjacence to and in wiping engagement with first the neck, and then practically over the entire surface of the tainedon the first shelf, so uponissuing ironriihew openings 21 of'shelf 25, the are again concentratedaxially of the bottles on the lowermost shelf, and thus brought into close engagement with each individual bottle on any one of the shelves. It will have been observed that the course of the individual air stream is altered to a certain degree by the bottles themselvs, and, due to the laterally staggered arrangement of bottles, is caused to follow a somewhat circuitous or tortuous path in proceeding from one and to the chambers l4 and 34.

Itwill appear that,bytheprovisim1ofa snitable speed. control (not shown) on the fan motor l2, the rate of circulation of the air, and hence the rateof cooling ofthehottleliqtfiimaybe varied, and thus is provided an effective control of refrigeration rate, according to the number of asinmovingbetween' in-thevertically'adjacent'sheives', those of the I appended.

with the shelf supports; necessitating,

with respect to the shelves, through the provision of crossed wire guards such as 30 disposed crossthe surface or the shelf,

streams of augmented velocity.

g a 3. A refrigerator for bottled goods, including an While I have described the invention by makinsulated disposed in vertical shelf pockets, and and forcing air through said each of said apertures being alignment with one of said means for cooling,

I w plate in a direction I claimas. my invention: a

1. A refrigerator for cooling bottled goods. in-

and lower-chambers; a partition member forming the lower wall of said upper compartment, a plu- 1y spaced apertures formed therein, ried by each shelf forming laterally ingseats, the bottle uppermost shelf being said 'ozzleslor vertically aligned with'the portmthe; shelves being said Q ARLB or the shelves in pred termined relative 5 supports for the shelves and means 

